WO2001035134A9 - Fiber splice protection sleeve - Google Patents
Fiber splice protection sleeveInfo
- Publication number
- WO2001035134A9 WO2001035134A9 PCT/US2000/029845 US0029845W WO0135134A9 WO 2001035134 A9 WO2001035134 A9 WO 2001035134A9 US 0029845 W US0029845 W US 0029845W WO 0135134 A9 WO0135134 A9 WO 0135134A9
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- splice
- optical fiber
- indicium
- label
- data
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/255—Splicing of light guides, e.g. by fusion or bonding
- G02B6/2558—Reinforcement of splice joint
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/255—Splicing of light guides, e.g. by fusion or bonding
- G02B6/2553—Splicing machines, e.g. optical fibre fusion splicer
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
- G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
- G02B6/3801—Permanent connections, i.e. wherein fibres are kept aligned by mechanical means
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q99/00—Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
Definitions
- the present invention is directed generally to optical fiber splicing, and particularly to
- optical loss to be provided by the splice may also be incurred due to other problems with the manufacturing of a fusion splice, such as an incorrect fusing temperature, an incorrect duration of the fusion, and an unclean work area where the splice is
- a splice is manufactured and installed in an optical fiber system (e.g., an optical fiber network)
- an optical fiber system e.g., an optical fiber network
- splices currently are not associated with a unique identifier or indicium (such as a serial number). Although some optical fiber cables have been uniquely identified, splices are not. However, without providing unique identification of splices, it would be nearly impossible to store splice data in such a way as to provide the desired accountability discussed above. Accordingly, there is a need for the unique identification of splices.
- a data collection system may be used for collecting and storing splice data associated with splices.
- the data collection system may be connectible to a splicer such that data associated with the manufacture of the splice can be transferred to the data collection system for storage, analysis, and later retrieval.
- the data collection system may be transferred to and stored by the data collection system (and/or generated by the data
- an indicium such as a serial number or other identifying data
- the splice program used to create the splice the date and/or time of manufacture of the splice, the place that the splice was manufactured, the splice type, the fusion temperature used to create the splice, the
- cross-referenced splice indicia may be provided via the input device.
- the splice data may be later retrieved for the purposes of providing accountability as to the
- the splice indicium may be or include, e.g., text, numbers, alphanumeric text, a symbol or symbol combination, bar coding, a pattern, graphics, a shape, a picture, an image, a holographic image, braille, a signature, a trademark, a color or
- each splice may have a label on which the splice indicium is printed.
- the splice indicium identify each particular splice having such splice indicium, either uniquely (i.e., completely unique amongst all splices) or semi-uniquely (i.e., unique within
- some aspects of the present invention are directed to an apparatus for receiving splice data for each of a plurality of optical fiber splices, each of the plurality of optical
- the apparatus comprising a data interface for receiving the splice data; and a data storage device coupled with the data interface, for receiving the splice data and the splice indicia from the data interface and
- the apparatus comprising a input data interface for receiving the selected splice indicium; a data storage device coupled with the input data interface for storing the splice data and the plurality of splice indicia; a processor coupled with the data storage device for retrieving from the data storage device the splice data associated with the selected splice indicium; and an output data interface for outputting the splice data.
- Still further aspects of the present invention are directed to a method for storing splice data and splice indicia associated with optical fiber splices, the method comprising the steps of splicing a plurality of optical fiber portions together to create a plurality of optical fiber splices; generating splice data for each of the optical fiber splices; assigning each of the optical fiber
- Still further aspects of the present invention are directed to a method for retrieving splice
- Still further aspects of the present invention are directed to an optical fiber splice comprising a first optical fiber segment and a second optical fiber segment, the first and second
- optical fiber segments being coupled together for optical communication therebetween at a splice
- Still further aspects of the present invention are directed to a method for manufacturing
- an optical fiber splice the method comprising the steps of splicing optical fiber portions together at a splice location to create the optical fiber splice; and labeling the optical fiber splice with an indicium that uniquely identifies the optical fiber splice.
- Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a first exemplary embodiment of a data collection system according to aspects of the present invention.
- Fig. 2 is a chart of an exemplary set of data that may be stored according to aspects of the present invention.
- Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of another exemplary embodiment of a data collection system according to aspects of the present invention.
- Fig.4 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a splice according to aspects of the present invention.
- Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a splice according to
- Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a splice according to aspects of the present invention.
- Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a splice according to
- Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a splice according to
- Fig. 9 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a splice according to
- Fig. 10 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a splice according to aspects of the present invention.
- the data collection system 100 preferably includes a data interface 101 for receiving and/or transmitting data, a data storage device 102 for storing data, a processor 103 for controlling data flow, controlling the
- the data collection system 100 may be fully or
- the splicer 150 may include an interface 151, a processor 152, a video camera 153 and/or other video input device, splicing apparatus 154 for splicing optical fiber cables, and/or
- sensors 155 for determining information concerning a splice, such as optical loss of the splice.
- the data interface 101 of the data collection system may be permanently connected, or
- the various connections to the data interface 101 of the data collection system may be in any physical format (e.g., electrical, optical, wireless, etc.) and data format (e.g.,
- the data collection system 100 may include a splicer input interface and connected to the splicer 150 as shown in Fig. 1. There may be one or more signal connections between the data collection system 100 and the splicer 150. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, two signal connections 175, 176 are used, one for transferring image data associated with a video image of a splice, and the other for transferring other data (e.g., text and/or numerical data) associated with the splice. However, a single signal connection for transferring both the image data and any
- the data storage device 102 may be any type of data storage device and may include any permanent and/or removably connectible storage medium (wherein data is stored on the removable storage medium).
- the data storage device 102 may include a magnetic and/or optical disk drive, a magnetic and/or optical hard drive, a ZIP drive, a magnetic tape drive, memory (e.g., a random-access memory), a removable memory card, a video cassette
- the processor 103 may be embodied in any form, and may include one or more central processing units, computers, controllers, and/or any other dedicated or non-dedicated circuitry
- the processor 103 controls data flow, controlling the selection, retrieval, and/or storage of data, and/or controlling various operations of the data collection system 100.
- the processor 103 controls the selection, retrieval, and/or storage of data, and/or controlling various operations of the data collection system 100.
- splice data may preferably be configured to select portions of splice data related to splice indicia.
- the battery / power source 104 may include a permanent or replaceable battery or bank of batteries, a rechargeable or non-rechargeable battery or bank of batteries, a solar array, and/or any other device for storing and supplying power.
- the input device 120 may include a button, keyboard / keypad, mouse, light pen, digitizer, optical scanner, optical wand, electromagnetic probe / wand, bar code reader, optical
- the input device 120 may also be any other automatic and/or manual input device appropriate for reading and/or receiving a splice-identifying splice indicium.
- the input device 120 may also be any other automatic and/or manual input device appropriate for reading and/or receiving a splice-identifying splice indicium.
- the input device 120 may also be any other automatic and/or manual input device appropriate for reading and/or receiving a splice-identifying splice indicium.
- the input device 120 may also be any other automatic and/or manual input device appropriate for reading and/or receiving a splice-identifying splice indicium.
- the input device 120 may also be any other automatic and/or manual input device appropriate for reading and/or receiving a splice-identifying splice indicium.
- the input device 120 may also be any other automatic and/or manual input device appropriate for reading and/or receiving a splice-identifying splice indicium.
- the input device 120 may also be
- One or more of the input devices 120 may be coupled to the interface 101 of the data collection system 100.
- the computer 121 may be may include one or more central processing units, computers, controllers, and/or any other dedicated or non-dedicated circuitry or other computing device.
- the computer 121 may further include and/or may be connected to a data storage device 122.
- the data storage device 122 may include a magnetic and/or optical disk drive, a magnetic and/or optical hard drive, a ZIP drive, a magnetic tape drive, memory (e.g., a random-access memory), a video cassette recorder, and/or any other data storage device and/or medium appropriate for
- the data storage device 122 may store any or all of the information that may be
- the output device 123 may be any device suitable for presenting data and/or other information to a user and/or to another device such as a computer.
- the output device 123 may be any device suitable for presenting data and/or other information to a user and/or to another device such as a computer.
- the output may be any device suitable for presenting data and/or other information to a user and/or to another device such as a computer.
- the output may be any device suitable for presenting data and/or other information to a user and/or to another device such as a computer.
- the output may be any device suitable for presenting data and/or other information to a user and/or to another device such as a computer.
- the output device 123 may be any device suitable for presenting data and/or other information to a user and/or to another device such as a computer.
- the output may be any device suitable for presenting data and/or other information to a user and/or to another device such as a computer.
- a device 123 may include a display (such as an LED display, an LCD display, a television screen, a video monitor, a fluorescent display, and/or a plasma display), a speaker, a piezo-electric audio output device, an electrical data output port and/or interface, an optical data output port and/or interface, and/or an electromagnetic wave data output port and/or interface with an antenna.
- a display such as an LED display, an LCD display, a television screen, a video monitor, a fluorescent display, and/or a plasma display
- a speaker such as an LED display, an LCD display, a television screen, a video monitor, a fluorescent display, and/or a plasma display
- a speaker such as an LED display, an LCD display, a television screen, a video monitor, a fluorescent display, and/or a plasma display
- a speaker such as an LED display, an LCD display, a television screen, a video monitor, a fluorescent display, and/or a plasma display
- a speaker such as an LED display
- One or more output devices 123 may be coupled to the interface 101 of the data collection system 100.
- the data collection system 100 may be used to collect splice data associated with splices.
- an operator or user may connect the data collection system 100 to the splicer 150.
- the Ericsson FSU925PMA splicer has a serial port and a video output port for providing various data related to the manufacture of a splice.
- the user may select a particular splice program for the splicer 150 to follow, create a splice of an optical fiber cable using the splicer 150, and manually or automatically take
- the splicer 150 may generate an image (such as a video image) of the splice immediately after the fusing of the optical fiber cables using a video camera 153.
- the image may be a still or a moving image and may be, e.g., about 1 MByte of image data per
- the image may be taken while the fusion point is still hot.
- An advantage of creating and storing the image data is that such an image often will show whether there is dirt or other foreign particles in the splice (caused, e.g., by a dirty work area) that could cause optical loss and other problems with the
- the splicer 150 may determine characteristics of the splice such as the estimated optical loss of the splice and/or the cleave angle of the splice using the video camera 153 and/or other sensors 155.
- the splice may be discarded, and a new splice may be created and measured as described above. If the splice meets quality standards, the measurements taken and/or any other splice data may be transferred to the
- the measurements and any other splice data may be
- the data collection system 100 may discard or store separately the data associated with a splice that is determined not to meet quality standards.
- the splicer 150 may transfer splice data (e.g., all or part of the image data, the estimated
- the splice data may be in any data format and may be analog and/or digital.
- the data collection system 100 may
- splicer 150 in MPEG format or other standard video format.
- Additional splice data may be provided via the input device 120.
- a splice For example, a splice
- the splice program used to create the splice the date and/or time of manufacture of the splice, the place that the splice was manufactured, the splice type (which may be defined by the splice program), the fusion temperature used to create the splice (which may also be defined by the splice program), the fusion time (which may also be defined by the splice program), the operator's identity, the identity of the splicer 150 or the splicing apparatus 154, the anticipated installation location of the splice in an optical fiber system ("installed location"), the customer for whom the splice was created or installed, and/or any cross-referenced splice indicia may be provided via the input device 120.
- installed location the anticipated installation location of the splice in an optical fiber system
- the input device 120 may include a bar code reader, wherein the manufactured splice may have a label with bar coding that uniquely or semi-uniquely identifies
- the splice (as discussed in more detail below), and the bar coding may be read using the bar code reader and stored in the data storage device 102.
- some or all of the splice data may be provided automatically
- the date and/or time of manufacture may be automatically provided by the clock 106 in the data collection system 100 (and or in the splicer 150).
- Any or all of the above-described splice data may be transferred to the data storage
- collection system 100 and the computer 121 may allow for full handshaking and a faster, better- configured connection (e.g., a serial port connection) than with the splicer 150. Accordingly,
- the splicer 150 may alternatively be connected to the data collection system 100 via the computer 121.
- the operator may manipulate some or all of the splice data and/or the operations of the data collection system 100 and/or the splicer 150 using the input device 120. Further, any or all of the splice data may be selectively and/or automatically deleted, archived to long-term storage, and/or transferred between the data collection system 100 and another device such as a computer, and/or between the data collection system 100 and another data collection system.
- the data storage device 102 and/or 122 may store the splice data in any format suitable for convenient retrieval at a later time.
- the splice data For example, for each splice, the data
- the storage device may store the splice data and the splice indicium in a unique data record. Further, the data storage device may index the splice data by splice indicium, and/or a database having
- access to the data storage device may be configured to access splice data according to splice indicium.
- Fig. 2 One exemplary embodiment of how splice data may be organized in the data storage device 102 and/or 122 is shown in Fig. 2.
- the table in Fig. 2 represents one way to organize and index data in the data storage device 102 and/or 122. There are many ways to organize the splice data in order to be conveniently retrievable, depending upon the user's desires and the
- the data categories (represented by
- the separate columns of splice data in the table) shown in Fig. 2 may be stored in a different order, there may be some- data categories omitted, and/or there may be additional data
- the splice data may be stored and indexed using a database application.
- the data within the various categories of splice data are indexed by splice indicium.
- splice no. 31 B05 (an example of an alphanumeric text indicium wherein any of the digits may be a number or a letter) has an associated image data 201 , estimated loss of 0.09 dB, cleave angles of 0.21 and 0.32 degrees, and date/time of manufacture of 2/25/99 at 1 1 :53 am.
- splice data may be partitioned within the data storage device 102 and/or 122 to separate splice data associated with one optical fiber system from splice data associated with another optical fiber system. Further, some or all of the splice data may be encrypted and/or secured such that the secured splice data is retrievable only upon entry of an
- authorization code There may be a different authorization code for each partition. In this way, certain data may be accessible only by authorized users. This may be required for some governmental uses and by some customers.
- Fig. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a data collection system 300.
- the data collection system 300 may include a bar code reader 301 (and or any other input device such as
- the input device 120 a data interface 302, an antenna 105 (and/or other wireless interface), a
- the data collection system 300 may be partially or fully encased in a housing 310.
- a housing 310 e.g., one or more memory chips such as a RAM, and/or any other data storage device
- a processor 103 e.g., one or more memory chips such as a RAM, and/or any other data storage device
- a battery / power source 104 e.g., any other power storage device
- the data collection system 300 may be partially or fully encased in a housing 310.
- a housing 310 e.g., one or more memory chips such as a RAM, and/or any other data storage device
- a processor 103 e.g., one or more memory chips such as a RAM, and/or any other data storage device
- a battery / power source 104 e.g., a battery / power source 104
- the data collection system 300 may be partially or fully encased in a housing 310.
- the data collection system 300 is made to be portable enough to be hand-carried by a person. For example, it would be preferable to manufacture the data collection system 300 to be no more than, e.g., five pounds, and/or no more than the volume of a standard laptop personal computer. Ideally, the data collection system 300 may be made small enough to be suitable as a hand held device.
- this embodiment of the data collection system 300 may be used instead of, or in conjunction with, the data collection system 100.
- the embodiment of the data collection system 300 as shown in Fig. 3 is even more portable than the embodiment of the data collection system 100 shown in Fig. 1. It may be desirable in some instances to have a data
- the exemplary data collection system 300 may thus include the memory 305 instead of a relatively heavy or bulky high-capacity data storage device of another type. In such a case,
- splice data and/or other data may be stored in and/or retrieved from the data storage device 122.
- data collection system 300 may be configured to selectably download into the memory 305 from the data storage device 122 only that portion of the splice data that is anticipated to be needed for a particular day and/or location. For example, prior to visiting a particular optical fiber
- the technician may download only the splice data that is associated with splices in that particular optical fiber system.
- the memory 305 does not need to be large enough to hold all splice data, thereby allowing the data collection system 300 to be relatively small and
- the data interface 302 may include an external storage device interface configured to receive at least a portion of the splice data and the splice indicia from the storage device 122, and such splice data and splice indicia may be transferred to the memory 305.
- a user of the data collection system 300 may enter additional data using the input device 308 while on site and store that additional data in the memory 305 for later processing and/or permanent storage.
- system mentioned above may enter additional data associated with one or more particular splices, and that data may be later or immediately uploaded to the computer 121 and/or data storage device 121. Such uploading of data, downloading of data, data retrieval, and/or other
- communications with external devices may be accomplished via the antenna 105 and/or via any
- the data collection system 300 (or 100) and the computer 121 may be in communication with a cellular telephone and/or pager network. In such a case, data may be transferred over the cellular network.
- a simple radio frequency transmission may be used directly between the data
- the data interface 302 may be configured to receive and/or send data.
- the data interface 302 may include an input data interface for receiving splice indicia, and/or an
- output data interface for outputting a selected portion of splice data. Further, the data interface
- the data interface 302 may include any other configuration of data interface such as an electronic memory device input interface (which may be connectible to an electromagnetic probe) for reading splice indicia from the memory of an electronic memory device, as further described below. Further, the data interface 302 may include a data port for outputting data representing splice data.
- an electronic memory device input interface which may be connectible to an electromagnetic probe
- the data interface 302 may include a data port for outputting data representing splice data.
- any of the embodiments of the data collection system 100, 300 of the present invention may be used for collecting and accessing splice data.
- the splice data preferably is indexed by splice numbers or other splice indicia. As will be discussed below with
- each splice (or group of splices) may be uniquely associated with a splice
- each splice is desirable to physically label with its associated splice indicium so that each splice may be easily identified by sight and/or using a label-reading device.
- the data collection system 300 may be used to selectively retrieve splice data associated with a particular splice.
- a user of the data collection system 300 may input a
- the processor 103 may access the memory 305 and/or the storage device 122 to retrieve splice data therefrom that is associated with the splice indicium (e.g., splice data that is in the same data record as the splice indicium). For example, a user may use the bar code reader 301 to scan in the splice indicium "31B05.”
- splice indicium 31B05 Responsive to splice indicium 31B05 being scanned in, splice indicium 31B05 may be sent
- the processor 103 may access the memory 305 and/or the storage device 122 to retrieve the splice data associated with splice indicium 31B05. Referring to Fig. 2, that splice data that is retrieved may
- image data 201 an estimate optical loss of 0.09 dB, a cleave angles of 0.21 and 0.32 degrees, a splice program of 1 , a date/time of manufacture of 2/25/99 at 11 :53 a.m., an operator of Jones, a splicer number of 2, an installed location of 103-A1-B23, and a cross reference of splice indicia 31B04 and 31B06.
- the data collection system 300 may display via the display 304, or otherwise output, some or all of the retrieved splice data. Multiple splice indicia may also be entered and processed in the same way. Although the above description of operation is discussed with regard to the data collection system 300, the same operations may also be performed using the data collection system 100 of Fig. 1. Alternatively, the data collection system 100 and the data collection
- the data collection system 100 may be used for the collection of splice data from the splicer 150, and the data collection system 300 may be used for the selective retrieval of splice data according to a selected splice indicium.
- the data collection system 300 may be connected to the data collection system 100 (e.g., via a connection between data interfaces 101 and 302) so that splice data is transferred between the two systems.
- the data collection system 300 may then be disconnected from the data collection system 100 so that it is more portable.
- the data collection system may be connected to the data collection system 100 (e.g., via a connection between data interfaces 101 and 302) so that splice data is transferred between the two systems.
- the data collection system 300 may then be disconnected from the data collection system 100 so that it is more portable.
- the data collection system 300 may be connected to the data collection system 100 (e.g., via a connection between data interfaces 101 and 302) so that splice data is transferred between the two systems.
- the data collection system 300 may then be disconnected from the data collection system 100 so that it is more portable.
- the data collection system may be connected to the data collection system 100 (e.g., via a connection between data interfaces 101 and 302) so that splice data is
- the 100 may transfer the collected splice data to the storage device 122 so that the data collection system 300 may later retrieve some or all of the splice data stored in the storage device 122.
- FIG. 4 An exemplary embodiment of a splice 400 having a label with a splice-identifying splice indicium is illustrated in Fig. 4.
- Two or more optical fiber segments 401 , 402 may be spliced together using conventional methods such as fusion splicing.
- the fusion point, or splice location (e.g., splice location 701 shown in Fig. 7), between the two segments 401, 402 may be protected by an inner sleeve 403 (which may be, e.g., thermoplastic tubing) encircling the splice location, and/or an outer sleeve 404 (which may be, e.g., heat shrinkable tubing) encircling the inner sleeve 403.
- a support rod 405 (which may be made of, e.g., metal, quartz, plastic, and/or a polymer) for absorbing mechanical stresses may be disposed
- FIGs. 4-10 show the inner sleeve 403, the outer sleeve 404, and the support rod 405 as being cut away in order to more clearly illustrate the structure of the splice 400.
- the splice 400 may also include a label 406 for identifying the particular splice 400.
- the label 406 may be in the form of, but not limited to, one or more of the following: a strip, foil, pad, sticker, thread, weave, engraving, raised surface feature such as braille, flag, tab, textured surface or object, hologram, electronic memory device such as a micro-chip, and or any other material, object, and/or device of any shape and/or size suitable for bearing the splice indicium 407.
- the label 406 may be made of paper, plastic,
- any of the above features of the label 406 may be used to uniquely identify and
- the label 406 may be disposed at a variety of places in/on the splice 400, such as on the outside of, or embedded within, the outer sleeve 404 (as is shown in Fig. 4), between the inner sleeve 403 and the outer sleeve 404, within (and/or part of) the inner sleeve 403, between the inner sleeve 403 and the optical fiber segments 401 , 402, on or in the support rod 405, and/or otherwise embedded in the splice 400.
- Fig. 5 shows the label 406 disposed on the inner sleeve 403 between the inner sleeve 403 and the outer sleeve 404.
- the label 406 is protected from damage by at least the outer sleeve 404.
- the label 406 may be in the form of a sleeve, such as the outer sleeve 404 (indeed, the label may be the outer sleeve 404).
- the label 406 may be attached to and/or embedded in any portion of the splice 400 (or other location near the splice) using an adhesive (such as glue and/or epoxy).
- the adhesive may be separately added between the label 406 and the splice 400, or the adhesive may be part of the pre-made label (such as an adhesive-backed sticker or foil). If the splice 400 is to be submerged
- the adhesive preferably should be a wate ⁇ roof adhesive, and/or the label 406 should preferably not be on the outside of the outer sleeve 404.
- the label 406 might not be physically on, or part of, the splice 400 at all, but may be disposed near the splice on, e.g., an optical fiber segment 401 or 402. In general, the label 406 is considered near the splice if it is physically proximate enough to be conveniently identified with
- the label 406 may be disposed at
- the optical fiber segment 401 within six inches of the splice, within two feet of the splice, or within ten feet of the splice, depending upon the physical environment in which the splice is in.
- a splice may be in a location that is not easily accessible (such as under water or in a closed container). In such a case, it may be preferable to place the label 406 at a location
- the label 406 may be disposed at a physical structure supporting, enclosing, and/or near to the splice 400 and or the optical fiber segment 401 or 402.
- Another alternative that may be preferably implemented when splices are not easily accessible is to provide a map of the layout of the optical fiber system, wherein the map is labeled, for each splice, with the same information that would be on the label 406. What is important is that the label 406 or map information is configured and located so as to ensure that the label 406 is associated only with a particular splice 400 (or group of splices).
- the label 406 may include a splice indicium 407 (or a plurality of splice indicia) that may
- the splice indicium 407 may be or include, e.g., text, numbers, alphanumeric text, a symbol or symbol
- the exemplary splice indicium 407 is a combination of alphanumeric text ("31B04") and a bar code.
- the splice indicium 407 may be disposed on the label 406, or it may be printed and/or
- splice 400 itself (such as on the outer sleeve 404, the inner sleeve 403, the support rod 405, and/or the optical fiber segments 401 and/or 402) without any need for a
- the splice indicium 407 may be unique for a particular optical fiber system, use, application, location, owner, splice type, splice performance, wavelength of light being used,
- each splice indicium 407 may be completely unique for each splice amongst all splices that are identified by splice indicia.
- the splice indicia should be configured to allow a large number of splices to be made without duplication of splice indicia (e.g., by using an alphanumeric number having a large number of digits, such as at least 5 alphanumeric digits, at least 10 alphanumeric digits, at least 1 million unique splice indicia, or at least 1 billion unique splice indicia).
- the label and splice indicium should be in both human-readable (e.g.,
- the particular embodiment, format, layout, style, and/or content of the label 406 and/or the splice indicium 407 may partially or completely depend upon the use/application, location, owner, splice identity, splice type, splice performance, wavelength of light being used, date and/or time of manufacture and/or installation, splice manufacturer, splice customer, installation
- indicium prefix or suffix may be reserved only for government use (e.g., a prefix of "31 " such
- the label 406 and/or splice indicium 407 may include splice information.
- the splice indicium 407 may include text, symbols, and/or other features indicating the estimated loss of the splice, the cleave angle of the splice, the date/time of manufacture of the splice, the
- the identity of the splicer that created the splice (including the splicer's manufacturer serial number), the installation location of the splice, and/or any cross- referenced splices.
- a holographic image may be used a the splice indicium, and may be adhesively disposed between the inner sleeve 403 and the outer sleeve 404 such that when the splice is opened, the holographic image
- any feature of the indicium 407 may be holographic.
- a serial number, alphanumeric test, and/or bar code may be holographically etched.
- the hologram may be a trademark of the manufacturer, customer, and/or project in which the splice will be used. Such features discourage tampering with or sabotaging a splice, since such
- the label 406 and/or the splice indicium 407 be difficult to counterfeit in order to prevent creation of unauthorized and counterfeit labels.
- the label 406 and/or the splice indicium 407 be difficult to counterfeit in order to prevent creation of unauthorized and counterfeit labels.
- 406 may be and/or include an electronic memory device 601, such as a micro-chip having a
- the electronic memory device 601 may store data representing the splice indicium 407 (or plurality of splice indicia), and such data representing the splice indicium 407 may be electronically detectable using a type of device such as a well-known probe 602 for reading data from the memory of the electronic memory device
- the electronic memory device 601 may be provided with memory capable of storing some or all of the data that may be stored in the data storage device 102 of the data collection system 100 and/or the data storage device 122. In such an arrangement, the electronic memory device
- 601 may transmit some or all of the data stored in its memory responsive to an electronic probe
- the electronic memory device 601 may be disposed on or embedded in any portion of the splice that the label 406 may be as described above.
- the electronic memory device 601 may also store the splice data associated with the splice.
- splice no.31 B04 may have an electronic memory device
- the electronic memory device 601 having a memory containing the exemplary splice data for splice no. 31B04 as shown in Fig. 2.
- the electronic memory device 601 having a memory containing the exemplary splice data for splice no. 31B04 as shown in Fig. 2.
- Dallas Semiconductor markets a DS1990A "Serial Number iButton.”
- the label 406 and or the indicium 407 may be disposed at one or more of the optical fiber segments 401 , 402.
- indicium 407 may be attached to the surface of optical fiber segment 402.
- Fig. 7 also shows an exemplary embodiment of a splice location 701 where the optical fiber segments 401, 402 are spliced together.
- the label 406 and/or the indicium 407 may be located adjacent to the splice, near the splice, and or at any distance from the splice that is appropriate for the particular use of the splice.
- the label 406 and/or the indicium 407 may be disposed at the support rod 405.
- the label 406 bearing the indicium 407 may be attached to the support rod 405.
- the label 406 may be a sleeve.
- the label 406 may be the outer sleeve 404.
- the label 406 may be the inner sleeve or any
- splice 400 may be located within a sealed container and/or in another location that is difficult to access.
- the label 406 and/or the indicium 407 may be disposed at another
- the label 406 bearing the indicium 407 may be attached to the outside of a container 1001 containing the splice 400.
- a user of the data collection system of the present invention may trace back the source of manufacture of a particular splice, as well as other splice data.
- a user who finds a defective splice that is installed in an optical fiber system may manually read the splice indicium located on the defective splice (and/or read the splice indicium using, e.g., the bar code reader 301 or other input device 308), manually or automatically input the splice indicium into the data
- splice data collection system e.g., data collection system 300
- view splice data associated with and indexed by the splice indicium the user may view on the display 304 the splice image data to determine whether the splice was incorrectly manufactured or whether the splice was later
- the user may further determine who created the splice, on what splicer the splice was
- a user may utilize the data collection
- the system 100 and/or 300 may determine any related splices that are cross-referenced in the splice data. For example, referring to the exemplary splice data shown in Fig. 2, the user may input
- the data collection system may output cross-reference splice nos.23 A 15, 23A16, and 23 A 18.
- cross-referenced splice numbers are, e.g., on the same optical fiber cable, such a method for using the data collection
- a user of the system allows a user of the system to collect and store splice data and splice indicia during the manufacture of splices, and/or to provide accountability as to the source of a particular splice and/or as to the cause of a defect in a particular splice.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU27242/01A AU2724201A (en) | 1999-10-29 | 2000-10-30 | Fiber splice protection sleeve |
CA002388767A CA2388767A1 (en) | 1999-10-29 | 2000-10-30 | Fiber splice protection sleeve |
US09/939,681 US20020003934A1 (en) | 1999-10-29 | 2001-08-28 | Fiber splice protection sleeve |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US09/429,644 US6282353B1 (en) | 1999-10-29 | 1999-10-29 | Fiber splice protection sleeve |
US09/429,644 | 1999-10-29 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2001035134A1 WO2001035134A1 (en) | 2001-05-17 |
WO2001035134A9 true WO2001035134A9 (en) | 2002-07-04 |
Family
ID=23704130
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2000/029845 WO2001035134A1 (en) | 1999-10-29 | 2000-10-30 | Fiber splice protection sleeve |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US6282353B1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2724201A (en) |
CA (1) | CA2388767A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2001035134A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (24)
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US6976192B1 (en) * | 1999-05-12 | 2005-12-13 | At&T Corp | Data marker having record keeping ability |
US6543692B1 (en) * | 1999-09-03 | 2003-04-08 | Gerhard Nellhaus | Schema for identification of solid form drugs |
US6742705B1 (en) * | 1999-10-29 | 2004-06-01 | Corning Cable Systems Llc | Data collection system |
US6650815B2 (en) * | 2000-12-27 | 2003-11-18 | Corning Incorporated | Optical fiber encoded with data signal |
US20020107830A1 (en) * | 2001-02-07 | 2002-08-08 | Murthi Nanja | Aggregating web data on clients and distributing the aggregated data to wireless handheld device |
DE20118013U1 (en) * | 2001-11-06 | 2002-12-19 | Ccs Technology Inc | Optical plug connection and distribution system for fiber optic cables |
US6923579B2 (en) * | 2001-11-30 | 2005-08-02 | Corning Cable Systems Llc | Fiber optic component marking with fiber optic indicia |
FR2841697B1 (en) * | 2002-06-28 | 2005-09-16 | Entrelec | DEVICE FOR REPERTING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR CABLES |
WO2007019158A2 (en) * | 2005-08-03 | 2007-02-15 | Network Integrity Systems, Inc. | Intrusion resistant passive fiber optic components |
US20070162350A1 (en) * | 2005-11-23 | 2007-07-12 | Friedman Paul R | Method and apparatus for retrieving remote data based on local indicia |
US7364520B2 (en) * | 2006-09-29 | 2008-04-29 | Easton Sports, Inc. | Sporting good items including pre-printed graphics |
DE102006056601A1 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2008-06-05 | CCS Technology, Inc., Wilmington | Device for thermal connection of optical waveguides |
DE102007019796A1 (en) * | 2007-04-26 | 2008-10-30 | CCS Technology, Inc., Wilmington | Optical fiber splicer and method of operating a splice device for optical fibers |
CA2636096A1 (en) * | 2007-08-02 | 2009-02-02 | Shawcor Ltd. | System for splicing fiber optic drop cables |
DE202007010785U1 (en) * | 2007-08-03 | 2007-09-27 | CCS Technology, Inc., Wilmington | Device for splicing optical waveguides |
WO2018175122A1 (en) | 2017-03-21 | 2018-09-27 | Corning Research & Development Corporation | Fiber optic cable assembly with thermoplastically overcoated fusion splice, and related method and apparatus |
US10976492B2 (en) | 2018-09-07 | 2021-04-13 | Corning Incorporated | Cable with overcoated non-coplanar groups of fusion spliced optical fibers, and fabrication method |
WO2020051034A1 (en) | 2018-09-07 | 2020-03-12 | Corning Incorporated | Optical fiber fan-out assembly with ribbonized interface for mass fusion splicing, and fabrication method |
KR20220016894A (en) * | 2019-06-05 | 2022-02-10 | 스미토모 덴코 옵티프론티어 가부시키가이샤 | Fusion splicing system, server, fusion splicer, information terminal, and project management method |
US11360265B2 (en) | 2019-07-31 | 2022-06-14 | Corning Research & Development Corporation | Fiber optic cable assembly with overlapping bundled strength members, and fabrication method and apparatus |
CN112034559B (en) * | 2020-08-21 | 2021-12-28 | 华为技术有限公司 | Optical fiber connector assembly, label system and label module |
US11886009B2 (en) | 2020-10-01 | 2024-01-30 | Corning Research & Development Corporation | Coating fusion spliced optical fibers and subsequent processing methods thereof |
US11808983B2 (en) | 2020-11-24 | 2023-11-07 | Corning Research & Development Corporation | Multi-fiber splice protector with compact splice-on furcation housing |
US11867947B2 (en) | 2021-04-30 | 2024-01-09 | Corning Research & Development Corporation | Cable assembly having routable splice protectors |
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DE3838075C1 (en) | 1988-11-10 | 1990-02-22 | Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm Gmbh, 8012 Ottobrunn, De | |
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US5871559A (en) * | 1996-12-10 | 1999-02-16 | Bloom; Cary | Arrangement for automated fabrication of fiber optic devices |
JPH11119067A (en) * | 1997-10-13 | 1999-04-30 | Fujikura Ltd | Method for adding fiber identification symbol to coated optical fiber and this coated optical fiber |
JP2000047072A (en) * | 1998-07-28 | 2000-02-18 | Fujikura Ltd | Method for adding coated fiber identification code of coated optical fiber |
-
1999
- 1999-10-29 US US09/429,644 patent/US6282353B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2000
- 2000-10-30 AU AU27242/01A patent/AU2724201A/en not_active Abandoned
- 2000-10-30 CA CA002388767A patent/CA2388767A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2000-10-30 WO PCT/US2000/029845 patent/WO2001035134A1/en active Application Filing
-
2001
- 2001-08-28 US US09/939,681 patent/US20020003934A1/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
AU2724201A (en) | 2001-06-06 |
CA2388767A1 (en) | 2001-05-17 |
US20020003934A1 (en) | 2002-01-10 |
WO2001035134A1 (en) | 2001-05-17 |
US6282353B1 (en) | 2001-08-28 |
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